A typical Halloween-shop kind of Darth Vader costume looks like a set of black pajamas with a plastic helmet on top. Sure, it's cheap, but it's hardly screen-accurate. For fans who want only the best, Anovos's Premier Line Darth Vader costume is now up for pre-order and it's spectacular.

The costume features a three-piece leather undersuit, leather gauntlet gloves, fiberglass armor pieces, a chest box with LED lights, a belt, a codpiece, and a cape. That's all pretty standard Darth Vader gear. What sets this costume apart is the attention to exacting details. Anovos's designers poured over artifacts dug up from Lucasfilm Archives and combed through footage from "The Empire Strikes Back" to refine the look.

The mask is asymmetrical to match Vader's original onscreen design. The cape is made from wool crepe and the whole costume uses a two-tone paint scheme.

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Since you'll want to wear this outfit at any opportunity, Anovos has kept the cosplayer's comfort in mind. Magnets and a keyed locking mechanism align the helmet correctly. Ventilation mesh is worked into the undersuit and gauntlets for breathability. The helmet has its own built-in ventilation system so you don't end up steaming in your own heavy breathing. There is a discrete front crotch zipper which is hidden by the codpiece.

Anovos releases its special-edition costumes in a tiered pricing format. The first tier of Premier Line Darth Vader outfits already sold out at the cost of $4,335. The next level is currently up for $4,624. If you wait too long, you'll have to pay the full $5,780.

If all of that is just too much for your druggat-poor wallet, you can check out Anovos's Standard Line Vader kit, which starts at a preorder price of $2,062 and goes up to $2,750. The Standard costume comes with faux leather rather than real leather to help keep the cost down. Boots and lightsabers aren't included with either costume due to licensing restrictions, but you could always pair your costume with a set of Vans "Star Wars" shoes instead.

About the author

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
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